Fountain comb



Jan. 6, 1953 c. I. MATSON 2,624,348

FOUNTAIN COMB Filed Nov, 14, 1949 INVENTORI Car/ex f/ZZczZBvrz Patented Jan. 6, 1953 UNITED STAT as PATENT om-cs FOUNTAIN CQM-B Cha e I- Maison, :fi icago Application November 14,1949, Serial No. 127,'004

1 My-invention relates to .combs designed to contain a liquid preparation or fluid for application .to the scalp while the comb is .being used,-and

one object is :to provide a comb of this character which limits the zone .of application to the tips of .the comb teeth, so that the preparation may not coat or settle in the hair.

A further object is to provide a comb of the above-character which is for-med with aseries of passa es i i h ad and t othron ions. in order tha a :fiuid con ent n th head ma be dis- 'filfi ll fid' qafih t tho the comb- Another object is to construct the head ofthe comb with an extension formed as a reservoir or container for the liquid preparation designed to be used in the comb, such reservoir or container having a controlled passage communicating with a manifold duct in the head of the comb.

An additional object is to provide a dispensing device for the fluid in the reservoir or container .of the comb which enables a quantity of the fluid to .be projected into the teeth of the comb by themere pressure .of a button.

.An important object is to construct the teeth of the comb withan internalelement facilitating the production of the comb and the control of the fluid carried therein.

With the above objects in view, and any others which may suggest themselves from the description to -follow, a better understanding of the invention maybe-had by reference to the accompanying drawing, in -which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the novel comb;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation;

Fig. 3 is a side view;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged duplication of the tip portion of one of the comb teeth illustrated in Fig. 4.

In accordance with the foregoing, it may be said that the novel comb has the general form of a standard comb, and may be made of plastic material, metal or any other suitable substance. The head of the comb is indicated at H3, and

.the teeth ll thereof are of standard form and terminate in an arched series in order to adapt the comb to the form of the scalp.

The head it of the comb has a longitudinal bore l5; and branch ducts It extend from the bore [5 through the individual teeth H. The ends of the bore i5 are closed by plugs H.

The head It! of the comb is extended from the center with a cylindrical enlargement 20, the same projecting in a direction opposite from the teeth -I I. The enlargement contains a receptacle reverse direction.

The-cap 22 is formed with a sunken medial portion 30 which serves as a bearing for a plunger 3| carried-by the cap. The plunger is in line with the passage 25 and has a button type head 21 at its outer end. A coiled compression spring 28 is carried by the plunger between its head and 'thefioor of thesunken portion 30, the influence of the spring being to move the plunger in the outward direction. A cross-pin 32 carried by the plunger beneath the sunken portion 30 forms a stop to the excessive movement of the plunger as influenced by the spring 28.

The fluid intendedto be carried by the comb is poured into the receptacle 2| when the assembly of the cap 22 and plunger 3| is removed, so that the receptacle and the passage 25 above the check valve are filled. Now, when the button 12,! of, the plunger is pressed-preferably by a finger-of the hand which holds the comb over ;t;he, scalp-.-.theplunger .5] will descend into the passage 25 and force the fluid therein to depress the check valve, pass into the bore I5 and spread into the ducts I6 of the comb teeth ll. Ordinarily, such fluid will emerge from the tips of the teeth into direct contact with the scalp, so that the hair will not be coated by the preparation if the same is intended only as a scalp treatment.

It is understood that in a device of the above character the ducts in the teeth II must necessarily be of very small diameter in order that the capillary attraction in the ducts may prevent the fluid from leaking out of the teeth in case some has remained in the bore I5 and ducts l6. However, practical methodsof manufacture make it difiicult to drill long ducts of very small diameter, and I have therefore devised means to control the liquid in the ducts it without the necessity of making them of very small diameter. Thus, Fig. 5 shows that a plug 35 is driven into the pointed portions of the teeth H, such plug being preferably of a spongy or fibrous substance. The plug is made with a hard and smooth coating 36 around the sides, such as enamel, the coating rendering the plug sufficiently firm to be driven into the duct I6 of the tooth. Also, a suitable adhesive may be used during this process to cause the plug to become permanently lodged in the end of the tooth. It is now apparent that the plug 35 will check the spontaneous issue or leakage of the fluid from the teeth H by Way of their tips. However, when such fluid is subjected to the pressure of the plunger 3|, the necessary slight amount thereof for the purpose of the scalp treatment will penetrate the substance of the plug and be dispensed from the tips of the teeth.

It will now be apparent that the novel comb has a number of advantageous features. First, it utilizes the practical design of a manifold passage in the head of the comb with branches extending through the teeth thereof. Further, it incorporates a compact and handy reservoir for the fluid to be used in the comb, with simple means for insuring the dispensing thereof from the tips of the teeth by mere finger pressure. Further, the comb contains an automatic check control to hold the flow of the fluid in the head reservoir until the dispensing of the fluid is desired. Further, the tip portions of the teeth contain a simple leakage control. Finally, the novel comb is composed of few parts and presents a neat and compact appearance.

While I have described the invention along specific lines, various minor changes or refinements may be made therein without departing from its principle, and I reserve the right to employ all such changes and refinements as may come within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim.

1. A fountain comb having a head with a longitudinal bore, teeth with ducts leading from said bore to the tips of the teeth, a reservoir for a fluid carried by said head and having communication with said bore, and control means to feed said fluid from the reservoir into said bore by manual operation, said reservoir comprising a receptacle open at its outer end, a closure cap for said receptacle and formed with a sunken portion having a bore into the receptacle, and said control means including a plunger disposed slidably in the bore of the closure cap and formed with a finger button at its outer end, a compression spring coiled around the plunger between said sunken portion 4 and button to influence the plunger in an outward direction, and a stop carried by the inner end portion of the plunger to check said influence.

2. A fountain comb having a head with a longitudinal bore, teeth with ducts leading from said bore to the tips of the teeth, a reservoir for a fluid carried by said head and having communication with said bore, and control means to feed said fluid from the reservoir into said bore by manual operation, said reservoir comprising a receptacle open'at its outer end, a closure cap for said receptacle and formed with a sunken portion having a bore into the receptacle, and said control means including a plunger disposed slidably in the bore of the closure cap and formed with a finger button at its outer end, a compression spring coiled around the plunger between said sunken portion and button to influence the plunger in an outward direction, and a cross-pin carried by the plunger inwardly of said sunken portion and serving as a stop relative to the same for checking said influence.

3. A fountain comb having a head with a chamber designed to contain a fluid subject to pressure, teeth with ducts leading from said chamber to the tips of the teeth, and inserts in said ducts of a consistency normally checking leakage of the fluid from said teeth but penetratable by the fluid to feed it through said tips when the fluid is under pressure, said inserts being spongy plugs coated around their sides with a hard material to facilitate driving them into said ducts.

CHARLES I. MATSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,014,465 Hall Jan. 9, 1912 1,629,389 Johnson May 17, 1927 1,698,631 Hutchings Jan. 8, 1929 1,829,021 Sinclair Oct. 27, 1931 2,170,550 Corel Aug. 22, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 20,075 Great Britain 1905 12,011 Switzerland April 4, 1896 18,894 Great Britain 1890 

